Wildcats Face Creighton in Omaha

OMAHA, Neb. — The Arizona Wildcats (24-12) and Creighton Bluejays (21-8) square off for a two-game series this Monday at Tuesday at Charles Schwab Field Omaha, the home of the College World Series.

Both games will be featured in national television broadcasts, with Monday's game airing on FS2 and Tuesday's game airing on CBS Sports Network. The Wildcats will look to bounce back after dropping their latest road series at Utah.

Fourteen Wildcats who saw game action in the 2021 College World Series return to Charles Schwab Field Omaha for the Creighton series.

For more, a complete weekend preview is below.
 

Leading Off...

• The Arizona Wildcats wrap up their road trip with a two-game set against the Creighton Bluejays in Omaha, Nebraska. Both games will be played at Charles Schwab Field Omaha, the home of the College World Series.
• Both games are slated for national TV broadcasts. Monday's game will be televised on Fox Sports 2, while Tuesday's contest will air on CBS Sports Network.
• This week's games will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs. Creighton is the second team Arizona has played for the first time this year, following Texas State in early March.
• Arizona has scored at least one run in 208 consecutive games, the longest active scoring streak in the Power Five and the second-longest in program history. They are 24 games away from tying the longest known streak in school history.
• Five former Wildcats made 2022 MLB Opening Day rosters: INF Bobby Dalbec (Red Sox), RHP Tylor Megill (Mets), RHP Mark Melancon (Diamondbacks), INF Kevin Newman (Pirates), and INF Alfonso Rivas (Cubs).
• Catcher Daniel Susac and outfielder Tanner O'Tremba currently rank first and second in the Pac-12 with 62 and 53 hits, respectively. Susac also leads the Pac-12 with a .385 batting average and 101 total bases.
• OutfielDer Mac Bingham has reached base safely in 23 consecutive games, the longest active streak on the team and the longest streak of his career. Infielder Nik McClaughry (16 games) and O'Tremba (12 games) also both sport extended on-base streaks.

SOME SERIES THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats polish off their road trip with a two-game series against the Creighton Bluejays in Omaha...Both games in this series will be played at Charles Schwab Field Omaha, the home of the College World Series where the Wildcats last played in June 2021...Both games in this series are set for national TV broadcasts; Monday's game will air on Fox Sports 2, while Tuesday's game will be televised on CBS Sports Network...This series will mark the first-ever meeting between these two programs...Creighton is the second team that Arizona has played for the first time this year, following Texas State in March of this year...The Wildcats have scored at least one run in 208 straight games, the longest active scoring streak in the Power Five and the second-longest streak in program history...Catcher Daniel Susac and outfielder Tanner O'Tremba currently rank first and second in the Pac-12 with 62 and 53 hits, respectively...Susac also leads the conference in batting average (.385) and total bases (101)...Outfielder Mac Bingham has reached base safely in 23 consecutive games, the longest active streak on the team and the longest of his career...Creighton is led by 19th-year head coach Ed Servais...Coach Servais is the uncle of former Creighton player and current manager of the Seattle Mariners, Scott Servais.

STREAKONOMICS: Outfielder Mac Bingham leads the team with an active 23-game on-base streak, dating back to March 8 versus New Mexico. Over the course of his impressive streak Bingham has posted a .344 batting average and a .410 on-base percentage, with eight multi-hit performances scattered throughout. His performances during the streak have raised his season batting average from .196 to where it currently stands at .295. Infielder Nik McClaughry (16 games) and outfielder Tanner O'Tremba (12 games) also sport extended on-base streaks heading into the Creighton series. McClaughry has hit safely in seven straight games, his longest hit streak of the season and the longest active streak on the team. O'Tremba and catcher Daniel Susac are not far behind with six-game hit streaks.

RUNNING WILD: Arizona has scored at least one run in 208 straight games — they have not suffered a shutout loss since falling 1-0 at Washington on March 17, 2018. The Wildcats 208-game scoring streak is the longest active streak in the Pac-12 and 84 more games than the next closest team, Oregon (124 games). It is also the longest active streak among all Power Five programs, and the third-longest streak in program history. Over the course of their 208-game scoring stretch, Arizona has been held to three runs or fewer just 34 times. On the flip side, during the streak they have scored five or more runs 120 times. Arizona, Oregon, and West Virginia are the only programs in the Power Five with scoring streaks longer than 100 games.

MLB OPENING DAY '22: Five former Wildcats earned a spot on Opening Day rosters aross Major League Baseball. Infielder Bobby Dalbec (Boston Red Sox), right-handed pitcher Tylor Megill (New York Mets), right-handed pitcher Mark Melancon (Arizona Diamondbacks), infielder Kevin Newman (Pittsburgh Pirates), and infielder Alfonso Rivas (Chicago Cubs) all opened the 2022 season this week. Additionally, three former Arizona players are currently serving as Major League coaches: Terry Francona (Manager, Cleveland Guardians), Kevin Long (Hitting Coach, Philadelphia Phillies), and Shelley Duncan (Analytics Coordinator, Chicago White Sox). Finally, 25 Wildcats began their Minor League seasons this week; a complete list can be found on page five of these notes.

BULLPEN BULLIES: A pair of right-handed relievers have been crucial to the Wildcats success this season: Trevor Long and Quinn Flanagan. The dynamic duo of righties have made 31 appearances this year and together posted a combined ERA of 1.28 (7ERx49.1IP). Both Long (.181) and Flanagan (.236) have limited opposing hitters to a paltry batting average. They have excelled in Pac-12 conference play as well, with their ERA in those games sitting at 1.80 (5ERx25.0IP). The pair has held opponents without an earned run in 27-of-31 outings this season. Flanagan in particular has excelled at racking up strikeouts, posting a 9.7 K/9 rate just over halfway through the regular season campaign.

EXTRA EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT: Through 36 games, the Arizona offense has combined to swat an astounding 127 extra-base hits, tied for the second-best mark in the Pac-12. The Wildcats are currently averaging 3.5 extra-base hits per game, with catcher Daniel Susac (23) and outfielders Tanner O'Tremba (19) and Chase Davis (18) leading the way. Arizona has taken advantage of the large dimensions at Hi Corbett Field since moving there in 2012 — in the decade-plus since the move the Wildcats lead the Pac-12 with 1,788 extra-base hits (second: Stanford, 1,627). During that stretch Arizona has paced the conference in doubles six times and triples five times.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: With a healthy roster and everyone playing in their natural positions, the Arizona defense has improved as of late. The Wildcats have not committed a fielding error in each of their last four games, marking the team's first four-game errorless streak since the 2018 squad opened the year with four error-free contests. Outfielder Tanner O'Tremba has been a steady defensive hand for the Wildcats, starting 32 games in the outfield and posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on 62 chances. Freshman Tommy Splaine, who has started 22 games between first base (18 games) and catcher (4 games), has logged a sparkling .989 fielding percentage on 184 chances. Daniel Susac, Arizona's everyday starting catcher, leads the team with 282 defensive chances this year and has posted a .982 fielding percentage.